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Some time ago project management was represented by three things: a pencil, a piece of paper and a methodology. But the time flies and the technology evolves… so why stop here? Why not use the technology? Software industry has evolved so much and can do wonders. With the introduction of project management software a few years back, the tools a project manager has at their disposal has been greatly increased.The new project management toolsThere are many different versions and variations to what is available on the market, having many cost ranges including programs for small businesses and all the way up to programs capable of keeping a corporation in business. Managing a business is no easy task, however, and keeping track of everything is often the hardest part of owning a business. These software solutions can make it easier for businesses to communicate with employees, clients, share files and track the status of projects and assignments.Management software can be a lifesaver for busy business owners looking for a better way to manage their business. But just having this sort of software program in place won’t help managers be more effective. It will only allow them to have access to more data, which may in turn make them more efficient. They still need to know how to communicate to the project head and be clearly able to delegate responsibilities to the project team members.Project management software has a simple goal: to help those involved in managing projects to achieve their objectives. For individual projects, the objective is to deliver the expected output from the project on time, within budget and to the expected quality. However, for those that manage multiple projects, such a software must do a lot more and it often has a different label, such as project portfolio management software, or resource management software.So how can project management software deliver such benefits?Some businesspeople may wonder what project management software can offer that the old tried-and-true cannot. It is quite simple: project management software achieves its objectives by providing pertinent and reliable information that the project stakeholders have confidence in. So the starting point is to look at how credible information can be delivered from such a system.By looking at the general advantages of software applications (increased memory, faster processing, virtual rendering, etc.) and taking into consideration that good reporting requires both good data and an effective means of processing and presenting it as relevant information we get the obvious conclusion that there are such benefits. If it is easy for employees to see what tasks they must complete, communicate and collaborate with each other then the project manager can spend less time managing these business aspects and spend more time on other things.But to achieve its objectives, project management tools needs to manage the following types of data:Resources
Skills, experience and other attributes
Working calendars and resources availability
Projects
Tasks – describing the activities required to produce each key deliverable, which are normally labeled as milestone tasks
Assignments – work estimates needed to achieve each task, for each resource
Cost rates needed to compute the actual costs and the value of work done, to be compared with the budget
Project management software benefits summaryThere are a few basic features that a management software solution should have in order to truly gain these advantages.
Easily manage your company’s projects
Get resources and finances under control
Bring project’s critical issues to your attention (overallocated resources, critical path)
Track project evolution in terms of completion, time and costs
“what if” scenarios capability is offered via multiple undo and redo levels
Provide a clean way to break down your project, build schedules, allocate resources and manage budgets
If all these are met then any project manager can agree that the key benefit is in relevant and timely management information.

Getting sales and marketing to talk to each other may feel like torture, but it has never been more critical – especially for the more than 5 million mid-market industrial and B2B companies in the U.S.The digital age and a host of technology developments have exposed four major flaws in traditional B2B marketing practices:• Lack of coordination between brand, sales/marketing and digital activities• Dedication to sales at the expense of marketing• The slowness of firms to focus their online voice• Failure to recognize that the internet has changed the sales dynamicB2B companies are struggling to leverage the internet to sell and grow. Unlike consumer product companies, they’ve been slow off the mark in the digital race due a traditional but flawed rationale that branding and digital communications can’t really help their ‘relationship’ style of selling.What’s become glaringly obvious is that three core marketing functions – brand, sales/marketing and digital communications – don’t behave as if they have anything in common. Worse, they don’t work together to build equity, share of mind, customer loyalty, or sales for B2B enterprises.The open secret always was that sales and marketing were never really very integrated. In some firms, they didn’t even like or talk to each other. Not to mention that in many B2B firms, ‘sales and marketing’ actually means ‘sales.’But because the internet has made company ‘walls’ ever more transparent, there are few secrets. Employees complain, whistle blowers whistle, bloggers gossip, e-mails get forwarded, the news media investigates, and your customers actually know all about you – your product benefits and even your prices – before you ever hit their door. So what are you actually selling?When a company’s brand, its sales force, and its digital activity aren’t in lockstep, customers notice. At best, customers scratch their heads at this lack of coordination; at worst and more commonly, firms are losing credibility, customer satisfaction and opportunity because they can’t get their act together.In 2014, Forbes Insights published, Breaking Down Marketing Silos: The Key to Consistently Achieving Customer Satisfaction and Improving Your Bottom Line.Forbes noted that the challenges with marketing silos mean:1. Each silo may have its own brand vision, creating a disjointed experience and message for the customer.2. Team incentives may motivate some team members to exploit and damage the brand in order to boost short-term sales.3. Poorly integrated teams suffer from inadequate cooperation.4. Silo interests stand in the way of programs that require scaling.5. Key growth areas such as digital are not scaled because they are dispersed across silos.6. Success in one silo is leveraged slowly into others, or not at all.And not listed, but in the mix: Inconsistent customer experience across divisions and functions.The good news is that with the right market data, the marketing function is uniquely positioned to lead the charge for integration in the name of better service to the customer. Forbes pointed out why marketing is primed for a leadership role in integration:1. Marketing brings an outside point of view.2. Marketing can articulate the unique truth of the company and what differentiates it within the marketplace.3. Marketing can communicate the product and value-why products are relevant to customers in different ways, identifying segmentation in the market.4. Marketing creates compelling stories for rallying employees and making an emotional connection with customers.5. Marketing is a strategic seat at the table; there is no other department that can see such a company panorama and bring those perspectives together.To overcome the silo issue, the report concludes by offering best practices for CMO’s:1. Replace competition and isolation among silos with communication and cooperation.2. Consolidate when necessary.3. Act as a facilitator, establishing frameworks, encouraging collaboration through teams and knowledge hubs, and upgrading marketing talent.4. Think like a consultant: create company-wide insights, train marketing talent and participate in strategy development.5. Secure access to the C-suite. Teradata found that marketers with executive responsibilities are almost twice as likely as others to believe that there are no barriers to interdepartmental integration.6. Force integration. In Teradata’s study, marketers say the best way for marketing to become more intertwined with other functions is to set up integrated processes.For some firms, these are lofty marketing ideals. But there are practical steps smaller companies can take to force different thinking and action. But there are practical steps smaller companies can take to encourage different thinking and action. One is to use research and market data strategically – know the customer better than anyone else. A second step is to stop planning functionally and start planning via a ‘communications & experience canvass.’ What does the customer need to feel, see and hear? How do we ‘behave the brand?’ Who is responsible for delivering that? What are the methods for delivery?In short, turn the silos sideways. With this framework, suddenly a lot more people see and serve their responsibility to serve the customer – including functions such as accounting, help desk, order fulfillment and e-commerce managers, and the c-suite.

Home Based Business has now become a buzz word where ever you go. The key question is, why do so many people want to go into business of working for themselves from home? The revelations are amazing and in this post I want to share with you 10 most powerful reasons why you should join the train of work from home entrepreneurs.Most home based entrepreneurs are intrigued by the fact of working from home and not wading in morning and evening traffic to work day and night. One other appealing fact is that, you no more have to answer to your boss’s whims and caprices.The best among all is the fact that in this quick and fast world where your income is devoured by so many social demands, it will always be beneficial to have an extra income coming from some other source apart from your main 8 to 5 job.Many have a slight idea of what could be achieved from a home based business but majority will be willing to fully embark on it if they are aware of these salient points I’m about to share with you now. Make a critical study of these 10 major beneficial points on working from home, and I guarantee once you take a careful look at them, your desire to start a home base business will soar high.With that said, let’s go to reason #1.1. Be your own Boss.Ever thought of being your own Boss before?You must also know that it’s not only the pride in being a boss but the ability to now think and make quality decision by yourself without anyone instructing and guiding you. But I must say that, after all is said and done, the experience and the confidence you gain far outweigh even the money and the freedom that comes with it.Most millionaires will tell you that, the one most exciting thing they gain for being rich is not the money but who they become in terms of experience, discipline, associations etc.2. Work when and how you want.You may be working for a boss or for an organization but you always dread Monday mornings when you have to start another boring week after a long week end. When the alarm clock goes off you have no choice but to wake up and get going otherwise you could be fired for being late.Yes, in most instances like this we all wish the business is ours so we could sleep a while and go as and when we like. For a home business, you could set your own working hours and if you are the type who loves to sleep during the early hours of the day, then you could just cuddle up in bed and sleep a little more.But be aware of the fact that, running a home based business does not also give you the ability to just do things haphazardly without discipline, commitment and consistency. What started as a good dream could easily become a nightmare and that’s what has resulted in most dot bombs you see around today.3. Job Security Issues are No MoreRunning your own home based business puts you in the seat of the boss; you are now the one who hires and fires. You are indomitable, you are the one holding the job, you call all the shots, and no one ever fires you.You no more think of what happens during cut back and retrenchments, you are no more afraid of whether the company is going bankrupt or not. The issue of job security is now nipped in the bud once and for all.4. You can start Part TimeMost people look at a home based business as something they can only do on full time and for that matter the fear of stopping their main job and starting a home based job has always created scary moments for them because of the risk of failure.One good thing about starting a home based business especially an online business is to start small on part time till you are able to grow it into a fully matured business that can take care of your needs and wants.Working 2 hours a day may be a good starting point for you. Exercise yourself and see some amount of money coming in and then add more hours and see much more before taking that deep leap to stop your day job. Don’t try to do all at a go. Take it easy one day at a time and before you realize you will be there.5. Your personal confidence will soarAfter just a few successes in your home based business, you will realize that your confidence will soar so high. You can now confidently hit your chest and say, yes, I have what it takes to start earning money online or make money from home.Most times, it’s not so much about the money but the ability to prove to yourself that you can also work towards a goal and get it achieved. Also knowing for a fact that, success begets success, you will soon find yourself moving on to higher heights and crossing barriers you were not able to cross before.6. You acquire a new level of disciplineAs interesting and exciting as a home based business may be, it still requires some level of discipline and commitment to actually see it through to success. Where you do not develop the necessary discipline associated with being your own boss, you will finally observe everything crumbling at your feet.The required discipline necessary to turn a home based business to success will definitely change your make up by the time you are through with it. It is therefore always good to realize that, it is not just about the money that you will make, but most of all, the discipline and the attitude it will leave within you.7. You acquire and develop new skills and knowledgeIt is impossible to remain at the same skill and knowledge level if you truly immerse yourself into your home based business. Let’s take an online business for instance, before you can truly perfect such a home based business, there are so many skills you need to develop and also certain specialized knowledge needs to be acquired.It therefore goes without saying that, a successful home based business person will definitely ends up with a series of skills and specialized knowledge up his sleeve. The majority of these specialized skills and knowledge can only be acquired through hands-on practical experience.8. You may earn a lot of moneyMoney is a reward for solving a problem; it therefore means that in order to have more money, it’s paramount that you have to solve more problems. It is also not a good decision to start a particular home based business because of the money involved. It is always good to start by doing what you love and the money will follow. As you love what you do, and you are able to help enough other people to get what they want, you will also get what you want.Feel free to follow your passion without necessarily thinking about money. As you enjoy what you do, you will naturally involve your whole heart and this passion will show on the outside causing people to now respond to your call.9. You can have freedomAfter all is said and done, the key reason why most people want to engage in a home based business is the freedom. When you plan your activities well and you are able to achieve your goals, it’s quite possible to experience both financial and time freedom.This level of freedom is what every worker yearns for but has eluded many. Freedom to do what you want, when you want it. Freedom to travel and go on vacation whilst your business keeps making money day in day out.10. You can retire earlyShould you be successful at your work from home business and you are earning enough, you could invest your money for it to work for you and go on early retirement. It has been the dream of many to retire early but the means to do so is just not there. With a very successful home based business, this could be achieved with hard work, dedication and commitment.Many have done it, you are not the first so gird up your loins, fold up your sleeves and get ready to embark on this fruitful journey. There is no limit to what you can do, every good journey starts with the first step, take yours now.So, this is it;”10 MOST POWERFUL Reasons Why You need to Start A… Home Based BusinessNow, if those 10 reasons didn’t get you excited and fired up about starting a ‘Home Based Business’ then I have failed to inspire you.Before you go please visit these successful online home based entrepreneurs there is so much you could gain per this visit.Online Entrepreneurs